Delighted to see my work on display in the restaurant at The Albany here in Twickenham:

Many thanks to all our visitors who made both Open Studio weekends a great success.

I welcome visitors and am usually working in the weekends but best to call first to be sure : 07900242997 I currently have a wide range of work from tiny miniatures 4″ x 4″ to a three – panel hinged room screen 5′ x 5′.

As well as medium sized oil on canvas paintings I have the following oil paintings of local scenes on paper which are ready to frame – prices range from £9 to £120 :

‘Twickenham Rowing Club’ – Lee Campbell

‘Twickenham Riverside’ – Lee Campbell

‘Orleans Spring’ – Lee Campbell

‘Richmond Bridge’ – Lee Campbell

‘October Light’ – Lee Campbell

‘Richmond Sunset I’ – Lee Campbell

‘Richmond Sunset II’ – Lee Campbell

‘River Mist’ – Lee Campbell

‘Roses Pink” – Lee Campbell

‘Resting’ – Lee Campbell

One of a selection of miniature oil paintings as cards, ready to frame.

‘Twickenham Spring’ – Lee Campbell Available as a print or greeting card.

I’ve managed to create a new series of paintings for my latest project – ‘MEET the ARTIST’ in one of the store windows of BHS in Kingston. 20% of the sales going to support ‘Love Kingston’ www.love-kingston.org.uk

This is an exciting new campaign to raise vital funds for Kingston upon Thames’s communities: Kingston Savers, Kingston Legacy Fund, Kingston Foodbank, Action on Homelessness, Hestia and Oxygen.

‘Gold Heart’ oil on canvas Lee Campbell

It’s been a busy time for me this year and despite the rain and flooding – See these great pics from the Huffington Post. They just missed me hopping over the stepping stone earlier – love the chap texting as he wades :

My evening WATER COLOUR CLASS which begins 18th February at Kingston University is taking enrolments now: Contact Nina Hunt – Head of Short Courses: n.hunt@kingston.ac.uk

Mini Roses + Frame

Mini Roses Gold oil Lee Campbell

Red & Gold oil Lee Campbell

If you ever needed a practical excuse to commission an original oil painting on canvas – this is it and to ascertain the exact size required – tape a sheet of newspaper to the wall and measure this – once I have the dimensions I can give you a quote:

2013 News

February News

My old site had ‘expired’ so I was forced to either employ a designer or have a go myself – so with much technical help by Steve – we managed to put a new site together last weekend. It’s fairly basic and we’ve had to sacrifice the video but I think it does the job.

Raisin Hell – Grape and Rasin Toxicity in Dogs

Did you know that dogs can be killed by eating grapes and the dried fruit derived from them??

Well, fortunately we did – but were unable to communicate this to Holly (our Saluki). On one of the rare occasions that she was left alone she decided to punish us by eating a whole malt loaf (with raisins)- she had ignored the dog treats on the bench.
We rushed her to an emergency vet where she was made to vomit and spend 48 hours on a drip. Happily she survived and is safely back at home – she treated the experience as something akin to a detox weekend at a health spa thanks to to 2 lovely Belgian vets (both called Julien) and the nurses who made a huge fuss of her. Not an experience I would like to repeat though.

Thanks to all the visitors (and organisers) who braved the cold to make the Open Studio show the best ever! Thanks also for the ‘Twickerati’ for his photo and excellent Twickenham blog: http://www.facebook.com/pages/twickerati/125429094134238

Mailing List

If you would like to be invited to future exhibitions and events on Eel Pie Island please contact me.

News – Nov

Delighted to see one of my older paintings on the cover of the Times Literary Supplement in November. The rights were purchased from The Bridgeman Art Library:

‘Quiet Place’ – Lee campbell

This autumn I returned to an old theme – Battersea Power station seen from the Pimlico Embankment, but this time in a misty damp evening light – a view I remember well from living in Dolphin Square in the 1990’s and cycling up to Grosvenor Dock along the Embankment. Sir Giles Gilbert Scott was the architect who designed both the iconic phone boxes and Battersea Power Station.

‘Thames Embankment’ Lee Campbell

‘Eternal’ oil on canvas Lee Campbell

‘Beyond’ oil on canvas Lee Campbell

New Series

When I was at the Royal Ballet School last year I was enchanted by the patterns the dancer’s feet made on the polished studio floors. The layers of texture was made even more mysterious by the daylight piercing the darkened interiors and creating reflective pools of light – I photographed it at the time but only recently made the connection between these textured layers and the tissue collages that I make:

‘Ghost Dancer’ collage – Lee Campbell

Mixed media collage – Lee Campbell

I began the new series by doing several small oil paintings based on the photos:

Traces series – Lee Campbell

These were followed by a larger piece which sets the ‘traces’ within defined cylinders:

Triadic Optics – oil on canvas Lee Campbell

This image links in turn to an earlier body of work entitled ‘Rothko with Altitude’ Rothko-inspired abstracts with an upper band of skyscapes and will hopefully lead to more work along these lines.

Meanwhile, I wanted to bring some light and colour into the winter studio so painted these pieces:

Nasturtiums – Lee Campbell

Always good to have some ‘warm’ paintings to liven up the studio on these chilly days so I’v been using the last of the nasturtiums in the canoe garden outside my studio as subjects. They’ll be gone with the first frost.

Studio Eel Pie Island

Commissions Welcome

If you have a photo of a special place that you would like translated into a painting email the image and the dimensions and I will send you quote. I also have a staggered payment plan with the final payment made when the painting is delivered

Student visit

Last year Laura Tosh visited my studio as part of a uni project photographing people on the island in their place of work and took the following shots – a real snapshot in time :

Holly ‘the muse hound’ continues to provide good company and a presence obvious only by the occasional snoring from the corner of the studio. Many visitors are unaware she is even there until she rises to stretch – perfect studio dog.

Appreciating the History of Twickenham

With thanks to our great local blogger Twickerati : http://twickerati.wordpress.com/

The island was previously known as Twickenham Ait, and before this, in the Churchwardens’ Accounts for 1608, the Parish Ayte, reflecting the ownership. In earlier times it was actually in three parts and Jean Rocque’s map of 1741 shows two parts.It has been claimed that the island was once connected to the Twickenham bank by a pre-historic causeway. Mesolithic/Neolithic artefacts: flints, horn implements, axes and hammers have been found in the river bed and on the island.It seems to have been a place for recreation as early as the beginning of the 17th century. Moses Glover’s map of 1635 notes a plot of land as “hath bin A Boulding Alley”. Only accessible by boat it still supported a public house first named The Ship, later The White Cross, during the 18th century. Henry Horne (1724-1814) is noted as the licensee of the White Cross in the Ayte for a number of recorded years between 1780 and 1795. In 1781 Mary Horne was the named licensee and in 1801 Elizabeth Horne owned the licence in company with William Fielder. The earliest mention of a public house of this name is in 1775 although there was, in 1737 one called Ship in the Ayte. No doubt this hostelry catered for passing river trade as much as the local population.

Samuel Lewis’s map of 1784 shows the inn in the centre of the Ait inscribed “Mr Horn”. Henry Horne was also a waterman: in 1788 he took the lease of the from Lord Dysart, renewing this until 1803, for the last time.The White Cross was replaced with a much larger establishment in 1830 and the island became a popular resort for visitors and boating parties, some brought by steamer. A watercolour by Thomas Rowlandson gives a flavour of leisure: various boats coming and going and visitors enjoying alfresco refreshment beneath the trees. The eel pies served were famous and led to the renaming of the island although with increased pollution the eel population declined and pies are no longer made.

The larger establishment took the name Eel Pie Hotel and the contribution which this establishment made to the development of British Pop music is legendary. It closed and was burnt down in 1971 while being demolished.Twickenham Rowing Club was founded in 1860 under the presidency of the Duc d’Aumale (1822-1897) then living at Orleans House and in 1880 built its headquarters on the island. Like Twickenham Ferry and, later, Hammerton’s Ferry it acquired a celebratory piece of music. Composed by W Vincent Wallace, The Oarsman’s March was scored for solo piano and dedicated to the Twickenham Rowing Club. Published by Robert Cocks & Co it was apparently published while ‘his Imperial Majesty the Emperor Napoleon III’ was still on the throne. In 1889 there was a proposal to establish an open air swimming pool at the upstream (southern) end of the island together with a bridge for access. Today, the island is now largely residential but sustains a boat-building and artist and craft workshop community. It also boasts a small bird sanctuary at its southern end. It remains connected to the mainland by a new bridge, though comfortably detached from the hurly-burly of Twickenham, for its residents.

Since August I have been working with The Royal Ballet School at their White Lodge site in Richmond Park. Feeling at a bit of a loss since the Byrne Bros project was completed, I approached the Ballet School and was delighted when they agreed to allow me access to White Lodge over the summer. The exhibition at The Portland Gallery will contain over 20 paintings produced as I immersed myself in this fabulous environment.

I was given access to the archive where I was allowed to photograph the old ballet shoes worn by Dame Margot Fonteyn. It was a real privilege and I could only imagine how her feet would have felt at the end of a performance.

‘Dame Margot’s Shoes’ – oil on canvas Lee Campbell

The forest surrounding the lodge contains many ancient oak trees and these have become part of the body of work along with the resident deer that inhabit Richmond Park. It was gloriously hot August day in Richmond Park as I navigated my way slowly past a heard of fallow bucks who were camped on the roadside and munching happily in the morning sun and flicking away flies with their antlered heads. There are over 300 fallow deer in the park and approximately the same number of red deer.

The view of the Lodge from the bottom of the hill was magnificent and I paused to admire the ancient oaks rising in a stately fashion form the bracken but I wanted to imagine how it would look dressed in autumn colours and late afternoon shadows.

‘Autumnal’ oil on canvas – Lee Campbell

The interior was equally fabulous and the first image I concentrated on was the main ballroom’s chandeliers and I attempted to capture this spectacle using mirrors and an unusual format:

‘Paradox’ oil on canvas – Lee Campbell

Continuing on a the theme of paradoxes I used ornate railings as a device to separate the dimensions within Le Reflet de la Lune which was given it’s title by my clever student Sandra who speaks French fluently.

‘Le Reflet de la Lune’ oil on canvas – Lee Campbell

I have also used tiny shoes as a means to return to still life painting, I find this to be a necessary balance to working from my imagination. With several weeks to go now to the opening I have still to complete a painting of floating feathers and hopefully one of oak leaves.

‘Satin & Velvet’ oil on panel – Lee Campbell

‘Tiny Dancer’ oil on panel – Lee Campbell

The show has also given me a chance to explore the mixed media collages that I enjoy in between paintings:

‘Connections’ mixed media – Lee Campbell

and to revisit the theme of bubbles:

‘The Entrance’ Oil on canvas – Lee Campbell

and works that simply suggested the ethereal atmosphere:

‘Borne on the Mist’ oil on canvas – Lee Campbell

However it was the Costume Room that provided the most colourful and rich cacophony of textures and vibrancy. I found rows of tutus stacked kebab fashion and hanging joyfully, hats, props and shoes patiently awaiting the next performance so I have returned to a technique of oil on paper to capture the delicacy and transparency of the fabrics:

‘Costumes II’ oil on paper-Lee Campbell

‘Costumes III’ oil on paper-Lee Campbell

‘Costumes IV’ oil on paper-Lee Campbell

White Lodge is a neo-Classical Palladian building and a rich history dating back to 1727 and built for George II. Since 1955 it has been home to the Royal Ballet Lower School which was founded by Dame Ninette de Valois and has just had a £22 million refurbishment.
The students are comprised of 120 11-16 year olds and among the allumni is Darcy Bussell and there are approximately the same number of staff attached to the complex.

There is a Museum in the crescent wing which has been imaginatively and instructionally designed to trace the history of ballet parallel with the history of White Lodge – museum@royalballetschool.co.uk Tel. 0208 3928440

Richmond Park has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a National Nature Reserve. The royal connections to this park probably go back further than any of the others, beginning with Edward (1272-1307), when the area was known as the Manor of Sheen. The name was changed to Richmond during Henry VII’s reign.

‘Park Light II’ – oil on paper Lee Campbell

‘Park Light III’ – oil on paper Lee Campbell

‘Park Light IV’ oil on paper -Lee Campbell

Exploring the building I enter through the rear of the building to discover it almost deserted except for some workmen and the security guard –
What a delight to have the freedom to explore this extraordinary interior alone. Beginning in the lower brick tunnels which link the classrooms and dance studios I crept respectfully through taking photos of all before me.

‘Light Pools’ – photo – Lee Campbell

Light effects ….on the shiny floors seemed to echo with the steps of dancers past and the kids artwork.
Moving through to the spectacular front of the house I noticed the ornate details and the statue of a dancer:

Looking out across the park to the lake I could see tiny figures moving slowly in the distant heat. The Shard which I had painted during my last project was visible trusting upwards through the heat-haze on my way up the hill.

‘Allegory’ oil on canvas -Lee Campbell

The garden had a display of gorgeous old roses which smelled heavenly and sculptured trees statues and a summer house.

Been frantic getting work ready for my new Hampton Hill Playhouse Exhibition and what a delight to finally hang it today! I finished the last piece yesterday. This painting re-visits my old haunts in Pimlico. I lived in Dolphin Square and worked as Resident Artist on Grosvenor Dock during the week then Tate Britain in the weekends so I used to spend a lot of time cycling along this stretch of the Embankment.
I managed to get 12 fairly large pieces hung in the space without it looking crowded.